A former attorney for President-elect Trump, Kenneth Chesebro, is attempting to nullify his plea agreement in the Georgia election interference case that also implicates his former boss. Alongside 18 co-defendants, including Trump, he faces charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
Chesebro, who is one of four co-defendants to accept a plea deal, has submitted a court document seeking to invalidate this agreement, which marks him as a key figure in Trump’s election overturning strategies.
While Trump has entered a not guilty plea, Chesebro pleaded guilty in October 2023 to a conspiracy charge for filing false documents. This plea spared him from incarceration and allows for the expungement of his record after he completes a five-year probation period, with the possibility of early termination after three years for good behavior.
Chesebro seeks to undo guilty plea in Georgia case involving 2020 election schemes
Chesebro was instrumental in crafting the Trump campaign’s alternate electors scheme following the 2020 election loss. Initially scheduled to stand trial last year, he opted for a plea deal, becoming the second defendant to plead guilty after Trump’s other attorney, Sidney Powell.
In September, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed several counts from the indictment, including the one to which Chesebro pleaded guilty. During a court session on Wednesday, Chesebro’s attorney contended that denying the request to invalidate the plea deal would infringe upon the “Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Although the district attorney’s office is anticipated to appeal McAfee’s September ruling, they have yet to take action. The Georgia case is one of four criminal matters Trump is confronting as the election approaches. His federal cases are under review for dismissal by the special counsel overseeing them, and his legal team is pursuing the dismissal of his conviction in New York.
Currently, the Georgia case remains active, but proceedings are largely stalled after a judge canceled an upcoming hearing related to an appeal concerning Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis‘s involvement due to an inappropriate relationship with a top prosecutor she assigned to the case. There have been no new dates set for this matter.
